Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 35

The scene flashed, and the surroundings changed.

A quiet forest.

A single path ran through it.

It was exactly like the Nameless Sword Gate he had seen in the past.

‘It’s been a while.’

As he was reminiscing and looking around,

“Krrrk, krrrk!”

came the sound of monsters.

It was goblins.

Following the direction of the sound, he found a group of goblins gathered in clusters.

‘Yes, goblins are here.’

But those creatures were merely decoys.

In fact, they were warm-up monsters set up to loosen up before the real fight.

Suho extended his hand and activated his skill.

[ Blood Weapon has been activated. ]

Then, as the blood gathered in his grasp, a blood sword formed.

“Krrrk! Krrrk!!”

The goblins sensed hostility from the formed blood sword, stopped what they were doing, and rushed at Suho.

Suho didn’t move from his spot.

Instead, he waited until they entered his range, then bent his waist and swung his sword just once.

[ Quick Draw has been activated. ]

Slash!

The swift sound of air being sliced.

Soon, the red afterimage of the blood sword, unable to keep up with the speed of the swing, flashed and disappeared in mid-air.

And then.

Splurt!

[ You have defeated a goblin. ]

[ You have defeated a goblin. ]

[ You have defeated a goblin. ]

[ You have defeated a goblin. ]

……

With just one strike, Suho had wiped out a horde of goblins.

Suho raised his blood sword toward the goblins’ corpses scattered around.

[ Blood Drain has been activated. ]

Ssshhh!

It sounded as if the air was being sucked in.

The blood sword glowed faintly and, like a black hole, absorbed every drop of blood spilled from the goblins without leaving a trace.

The absorbed blood gathered within the Blood Orb.

Though he felt the Blood Orb filling up, it didn’t help much.

This was because the absorbed blood came from mere goblins.

At that moment,

Clank-came the sound of heavy metal scraping.

Turning toward the sound, he saw a man wearing a tattered cloak and an old helmet that covered his entire face.

At the same time, a notification popped up.

[ A boss monster has appeared. ]

Right.

That ragged swordsman, looking no better than a beggar, was the master of the Nameless Sword Gate.

Suho glanced at the name card displayed above his head.

– Nameless Swordsman Lv.???

Nameless Swordsman.

That was his name.

And so, he was first called the Nameless Swordsman.

That made sense, as the gate was named the Nameless Sword.

And another thing.

His level wasn’t displayed.

The reason?

No one knew.

Only the system could explain why.

Because his level was not precisely displayed, some people underestimated him.

But they would soon realize what a huge mistake that was.

Swish!

The Nameless Swordsman drew his sword.

At the same time, a skill activated.

[ The Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman has been activated. ]

[ While the Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman is active, the Nameless Swordsman’s status screen will match that of the challenger. ]

[ While the Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman is active, all combatants within the area can use only ‘swords’ as weapons. ]

[ While the Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman is active, all combatants within the area can use only ‘swordsmanship’ as skills. ]

It had begun.

The Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman.

This was the Nameless Swordsman’s exclusive skill and the core feature that made the Nameless Sword Gate incredibly difficult.

‘Yes, everything was because of that. So many people died because of that absurd, unfair skill.’

The Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman.

The challenger could only use swordsmanship and a sword.

In exchange, the Nameless Swordsman fought with the same physical stats as the challenger. However, unfortunately, that was no penalty to the Nameless Swordsman.

‘Penalty, my foot; it’s just a deception to toy with the opponent.’

There was only one way to win in the Battlefield of the Nameless Swordsman.

It was to possess superior swordsmanship.

For that reason, after killing more than a hundred players, people began to call him the Emperor of Swordsmanship… the “Sword Emperor.”

Suho raised his blood sword and spoke.

“Sword Emperor, it’s been a while.”

In that moment.

Boom – !

As if responding to Suho’s greeting, the Sword Emperor leaped forward with a massive stomp aimed straight at him.

Simultaneously, a blade aimed for his throat.

Suho twisted his body and raised his blood sword, deflecting the blade.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the old blade and blood sword clashed.

A heavy force.

A trembling blade.

Who would dare call that an old blade?

Suho knew.

Even that old blade was a gimmick meant to deceive opponents.

However, amid all those false tricks, there was one genuine truth.

It was the overwhelming swordsmanship that the Sword Emperor had honed over the years, unmatched by any other swordsman.

‘That’s why he earned the title of Sword Emperor.’

Clang!

Suho, after parrying the blade, pressed his sword forward, shoving the Sword Emperor back along with the blade.

It required a lot of strength to push him back, but it wasn’t impossible.

Currently, the Sword Emperor had the same status screen as Suho.

Then, the Sword Emperor skillfully twisted his body to minimize the distance he was pushed back.

Such a seasoned move.

Even though it had been a while since he’d seen it, Suho couldn’t help but be quietly impressed.

‘As expected of the Sword Emperor.’

The Sword Emperor immediately counterattacked.

This time, he approached differently from before.

This was the real terror of the Sword Emperor.

His swordsmanship was not one-dimensional and had various approaches depending on the opponent.

Thus, the Sword Emperor mocked and toyed with countless people that way.

With the same conditions and the same weapon, it looked like a fair battlefield, but it was actually anything but fair.

He used whatever was advantageous to him to toy with and entrap his opponents, ultimately claiming their lives.

For this reason, this place was designated as an S-rank Sealed Gate.

For modern people, more familiar with guns than swordsmanship, and more accustomed to writing than punching, the Sword Emperor’s swordsmanship was beyond their reach.

However.

Swish!

Suho stepped forward half a beat faster, swinging his sword at the approaching Sword Emperor.

His body momentarily lost its balance, and he couldn’t stop Suho’s effective attack.

Crash!

The Sword Emperor, slashed diagonally across the chest, jumped back, widening the distance.

He seemed flustered.

Well, of course.

After devouring everyone with overwhelming dominance, it was the first time he had taken a hit.

Seeing the Sword Emperor’s startled expression, Suho raised his sword with a smile.

“What? Surprised?”

“…….”

The Sword Emperor did not respond.

Instead, he adjusted his stance.

Seeing this, Suho chuckled and muttered.

“Right, you never spoke until the very end.”

At the end of Suho’s words, the Sword Emperor closed in on him again.

Whoosh!

The sound of air slicing by his ear.

Sharp.

Aggressive.

However.

Clang!

“……!”

The Sword Emperor’s eyes widened.

This time, it was an especially sharp strike, but it was blocked as if it were nothing.

Suho, with their swords locked together, grinned.

“This is the seventh time. The number of times I’ve come back to defeat you.”

“……?!”

Did the Sword Emperor understand?

No one knew the truth.

He never responded to the challenger’s words.

However, Suho sensed it through the waves of emotion radiating from him.

The Sword Emperor was undoubtedly shaken.

Suho, grinding his sword against the parried blade, slid it upward, and as soon as the swords separated, he quickly swung downward.

[ Decapitation has been activated. ]

The Decapitation skill activated.

Following the slash of his sword, a delayed red line trailed like a tail.

At the same time, the left arm of the Sword Emperor, positioned within the red line, split open, leaving a gap in the void.

Slice!

He had successfully severed the left arm.

The cut-off left arm tilted momentarily, then hung in the air before gravity took hold.

Without hesitation, Suho spun around and sent it flying with a backward kick.

Thud!

The severed left arm clattered loudly to the ground.

No, on closer inspection, it was indeed an empty can.

There was nothing inside the severed left arm.

Sensing danger, the Sword Emperor retreated.

Looking at the one-armed figure, Suho spoke.

“Many people wondered what was inside that armor. But do you know how disappointed I was the first time I saw it?”

Creak-

A response?

The Sword Emperor’s armor creaked with an old sound.

Perhaps it was a coincidence.

Ignoring it, Suho continued.

“I was really disappointed. Everyone praised you as the Nameless Swordsman, the Sword Emperor, but in reality, you were just the remnant of a sword ghost.”

Finishing his words, Suho charged at the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor raised his sword in a defensive stance.

Just before Suho closed the distance, the Sword Emperor swung his sword to counterattack.

It was a timed counter to catch Suho’s approach.

But Suho anticipated this, having nearly died from it several times.

Calculating the trajectory of the swing, he halted his advance and took a step back.

Swoosh!

The counterattack sliced through empty air.

Once the Sword Emperor’s right arm had fully swung around, Suho unleashed his stored-up attack.

This time, he targeted the Sword Emperor’s right thigh.

Clank!

The thick armor on the thigh split with a hefty sound.

Feeling a clean slice, Suho kicked at the Sword Emperor’s thigh, breaking his balance.

Once again, an empty interior was revealed, and the startled Sword Emperor hopped back on one leg.

He didn’t stagger.

It was as if he had been born on one leg, holding his sword in his only remaining arm.

Why?

It was simple.

The Sword Emperor was a shell animated by the spirit’s will rather than muscles.

Suho raised his sword again.

“Tsk, from start to finish, you’re all gimmicks. Still, I’m grateful to you. Thanks to you, the foundation for the Suho Sword was laid.”

Yes.

The reason Suho could finally defeat him after numerous challenges.

And despite all his deceit and unfairness, the reason Suho called him the Sword Emperor.

It was because his swordsmanship was genuine, and thanks to him, Suho’s swordsmanship had improved dramatically.

In other words, the Nameless Swordsman…

No, the ‘Sword Emperor’… was the very teacher who allowed Suho to reach the level of ‘Sword God.’

“Goodbye, even if briefly.”

Suho closed the distance once more.

The Sword Emperor started his evasive moves with his one leg, but unfortunately, the Suho Step, created by Suho, was a pursuit step developed to catch him.

[ Decapitation has been activated. ]

In an instant, Suho’s sword slashed down from the crown of the Sword Emperor’s head to his groin.

And then.

[ You have defeated the Nameless Swordsman. ]

Suho had successfully slain the one who had once massacred over 200 people and been known as the “Sword Emperor” once again.